HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/09/2015 Work SessionCity of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY MARCH 9, 2015
The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Library Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street,
Springfield, Oregon, on Monday March 9, 2015 at 5:30 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Moore, Ralston, Woodrow and Pishioneri
Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, *Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney
Mary Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff.
Councilor Wylie was absent (excused).
1. Main Street Corridor Vision Plan and Traffic Safety
Linda Pauly, Principal Planner, introduced this item
Ms. Pauly said tonight's work session will be focused on traffic and pedestrian safety along Main
Street, a very significant and long standing concern to our community. For example, the City has been
working with Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) for more than ten years to request
pedestrian safety studies and installation of safe crossings on Main Street. To look at how this concern
in related to other important transportation and land use concerns for the future of Main Street, the
City conducted the Main Street Corridor Vision Plan land use and transportation visioning process
over the last year and a half. This has been a series of community conversations to learn from our
citizens about the kinds of changes that will be realistic, feasible and sensible along the seven and a
half mile corridor between downtown and Thurston. Over 500 people have been involved in creating
the Vision Plan and many others have participated in the other four "Our Main Street" projects over
the last several years to address pedestrian crossings, potential transit improvements, SmartTrips and
downtown lighting.
The Vision Plan expresses a community's desire for a transition of Main Street to a "complete
community street" that will provide enhanced opportunities for successful commerce and corridor
redevelopment as Springfield grows. The Plan describes the visions and goals for each of three
distinct segments along the corridor and provides ideas for ways to achieve the vision over the shorter
and longer terms. These are based on concerns and ideas heard from the community through the
visioning process, and in response to existing and expected future conditions in the corridor. The
Council adopted the Vision Plan on February 17, 2015. Through the visioning process, members of
the public, community leaders, and Main Street property and business owners have shared many ideas
to address traffic safety concerns. The results of the process have confirmed the importance of, and the
community support for, implementing additional measures to improve safety, especially for measures
that would lower the speed of traffic in the corridor. Excerpts from the Vision Plan, including actions
to address safety, are included in the agenda packet as Attachments 2. They are there to provide
context for Council's discussion of potential short and long-term priorities. Also included in the
agenda packet as Attachment 3 which are Council's Implementation Priorities, Main Street Corridor
Vision Plan. Staff is requesting direction from Council at the end of tonight's meeting.
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Ms. Pauly introduced Traffic Engineer Brian Barnett who would report on the existing actions and
present recommended short and long-term traffic safety actions available to the City.
Mr. Barnett introduced Angela Kargel, Region Traffic Manager and David Reesor, District
Transportation Planner with ODOT. The City is glad to have their participation this evening and
overall. ODOT is the owner and operator of Main Street and the City works in partnership with them.
When it comes to transportation safety, there are a number of tools available: engineering (signs,
markers, signals, etc.); education (teaching children, adults, bicyclists, pedestrians, etc. how to use the
facilities safely); and enforcement (police action). The other two elements involved in traffic safety
are emergency services which is the response after a collision; and evaluation of the data sets from
each of the other categories. Emergency services and evaluations are outside the scope of tonight's
discussion.
Mr. Barnett referred to Attachment 4 of the agenda packet, which is the memorandum prepared by
Captain Lewis. The memo outlines historical information and plans for Police moving forward. There
are about 2700 stops on Main Street per year. Those stops do not include those on the side streets, so
the number is likely much higher. More than a quarter of the DUII arrests or citations within the City
occur on Main Street. He noted that the reference to fatalities in the memo identifies collisions and
not number of people involved. Six of the fatal collisions were vehicle versus pedestrian. In four of
those incidents, pedestrians were not in the crosswalks. One was a vehicle versus a bicycle and five
were vehicle versus vehicle. Police plans to increase enforcement on Main Street by reallocating
current resources.
Mr. Barnett provided a printed document of a list of all ideas received from citizens through email,
phone calls, and other contact. This list had not been vetted by staff. It was likely additional
correspondence and comments would be received from the community. Staff will evaluate each of the
suggestions as they evaluate the project and situation. He referred to the packet of emails that was
assembled and had been placed at the Council places. There are additional emails that are being
compiled from all staff and Councilors who have received them.
Mr. Barnett referred to Attachment 1 of the agenda packet which listed short term actions and longer
term actions. Other longer term actions are significant planning, engineering, construction and
activities that may take a number of years. Although they are not listed, staff recognizes they are
equally as important. He reviewed the short term actions listed:
• Encourage community sourced ideas, consider the most effective ideas and implement with
community support. — Development and Public Works Department (DPW)
• Continue increased enforcement hours on Main Street and publicize regularly — Police
Department (PD)
• Promote use of existing education materials presently on the City web site, kiosk brochures,
and other media through public service announcements on radio and television, MetroTV, and
social media, etc. — DPW
• Support Springfield Public Schools Safe Routes to Schools (SR2S) outreach to students in
Spring of 2015. This program is developing plans around each school to improve the safety of
walking and biking, and facilities to support walking and biking both on and off school
grounds — DPW & PD
• Refocus the annual Public Works Week reaching middle school age children concerning
bicycle and pedestrian safety education and incorporate SR2S — DPW
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Evaluate increased support for Safety Town, an education program aimed toward
prekindergarten children with high school students as teachers — DPW
Post traffic safety messages on street banner sites, traffic signal controller cabinets and other
public sites — DPW
Reduce speed limit — ODOT
o Main Street — reduce current 40 MPH zone to 30 or 35 MPH
o Highway 126 north of Main Street — reduce from 55 MPH to 45 MPH for southbound
traffic approaching Main Street
o Main Street — reduce current 45 MPH zone (east of the Bob Straub Expressway) to 35
or 40 MPH
Mr. Barnett explained that speed limits in the State of Oregon are either statutorily established based
on classification of the road, or established through the speed zone review process through ODOT.
That is an engineering study that evaluates crash history, roadway culture, and speed. The City will
make a recommendation to ODOT prior to that study. If the City and ODOT are in agreement
following the analysis, the speed can be reposted. If they aren't in agreement, there would be an
opportunity for the City to file a request for reconsideration which would go to the speed zone review
panel that would analyze the information and make a final determination. There are two locations
staff is recommending a change which are noted in the list above. They have considered the
possibility of removing the ramp that leads southbound traffic onto Main Street to help with the speed.
Mr. Barnett further explained the ramp leading traffic from Highway 126 southbound to Main Street,
and how removing that ramp would force traffic to come to the full intersection.
Mr. Barnett continued reviewing the bulleted list:
Apply for safety project funding through the All Roads Transportation Safety (ARTS)
program. The application deadline is the end of this month. The City will make an application
for Main Street, Gateway Street, and Pioneer Parkway. For Main Street, staff is
recommending they install countdown timers on the remaining traffic signals, adding
reflective back plates around the perimeter of the traffic signal, and corridor lighting for the
two-way segment of Main Street. These are systemic actions that run across the full length of
the corridor. Some spot improvements that are being considered such as changing the traffic
signal phasing at locations such as 54th Street and Main Street, which would provide a
protected left turn. — DPW & ODOT
Reduce actual travel speed by street cross section alterations — DPW & ODOT
o Narrow each lane to create the appearance of a narrower street using striping methods.
o Complete a test project as a reversible, low cost, proof of concept that can be removed
if it is counter -effective.
Mr. Barnett said reducing the speed limit alone may not change everyone's behavior, so street cross
section alterations can be used to help change behavior. The current configuration of Main Street
encourages faster speeds. There are a number of methods that could affect a reduced speed by
changing the roadway environment. It is more of a longer term solution.
Mr. Barnett reviewed to the longer terms actions listed:
• Install street illumination (could use ARTS Grant funds for these) — DPW
o At pedestrian crossing projects
o At transit activity areas and transit stops
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o Along the entire corridor
• Revisit the Main Street Safety Study — ODOT & DPW
o Implement identified but unfunded actions, such as installing the remainder of the
Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacon Crossings (with the yellow light). — ODOT
o Update the plan to reflect new circumstances, policies, and regulations — ODOT &
DPW
• Install Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons (PHB) east of Hwy 126/Bob Straub Parkway in the higher
speed area (with the red lights) — ODOT
• Redesign Main Street consistent with the Main Street Corridor Vision Plan and other relevant
resources — ODOT & DPW
Councilor Moore asked why they chose the yellow lights on Main Street rather than the red lights
Mr. Barnett said that was ODOT's preference.
Mr. Barnett said staff is looking for direction about the list he has presented. He recognized there was
a long list of other items coming in from citizens which will also be considered. Staff will be
modifying their approach as they studied them further.
Mayor Lundberg thanked everyone in the audience for coming. Tonight is a work session in which
they hear from staff and then have a Council discussion. Next week is an opportunity for everyone to
attend and speak under Business from the Audience. The recommended action is to redirect resources
to accomplish the short-term actions that fall under Springfield's authority, and to seek approval from
ODOT for actions they are obligated to take. There are a lot of ideas to consider tonight with all of the
ideas being presented. They will need to go through everything and look at things that make the most
sense, and categorize those items.
Mr. Barnett said there is a very broad list and they won't be able to discuss each one individually.
They are interested in what can be done immediately and what Council supports staff doing. He
investigated what is involved in making Main Street designated as a safety corridor. It looks like it
has a lot of positives, and perhaps some negatives. Most safety corridors are located in rural
environments. One is identified in Medford on the outskirts of town, which may fit with this setting in
the eastern part of Main Street. It involves an increased commitment to enforcement, an increased
commitment to education, and ODOT involvement with engineering solutions. Safety corridors can
be put into place and removed somewhat easily.
Mayor Lundberg asked how long it takes to get designated as a safety corridor.
Mr. Barnett it could possibly be done within a few months.
Discussion was held about how to move forward with the list of topics.
Mr. Grimaldi suggested each councilor state the topics they have most interest in, as Councilor
Pishioneri suggested, but also giving staff direction on the short list in the memo. Those items are
ready to go and could be started immediately.
Councilor Ralston said to prevent these kinds of tragedies, we need stiffer enforcement with higher
penalties, or more education regarding crossings. He has always felt that changing the speed limit
when coming in from the east should be done. It is too high at 55 mph. He didn't like getting rid of the
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sweeping right hand turn off of Highway 126 as it keeps traffic flowing. He is not interested in
reducing the speed too much, but perhaps 5mph. Encouraging more pedestrian and multi -modal
transportation goes hand in hand with what is already being done.
Councilor Woodrow said the speed from 52°a Street to Main on Highway 126 could be reduced to 45
mph or even 40 mph. She is interested in increasing enforcement and slowing the speed down. She
drove 35 mph all the way in on Main Street from Bob Straub and she kept up with people going 40-45
mph, so it doesn't make a lot of difference in time. Businesses would benefit as would pedestrians.
When she was a child was told to stop, look and listen. She would love to see a promotion similar to
that between the City, the School, Willamalane and Lane Transit District (LTD), and reinforce that
education. They could go into safety fairs and other community events to promote this message for
drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.
Councilor Pishioneri asked Captain Lewis to add distracted driving to the list of enforcement, such as
using cell phones. From the short list, there was something about protected left turn lanes for 54"'
Street and Main. He felt those were very low speed so would prefer to use funds for that project for
something that could mitigate injury. He is also interested in narrowing the lanes, but would also like
to look into pedestrian sanctuaries, such as a median island, in the turn lanes throughout the corridor.
He is very interested in a safety corridor. He asked if staff had any statistics on whether or not
placement of the beacon crossings had reduced the number of accidents.
Mr. Barnett said collisions are generally random and rare events. They haven't had the crossings in
place very long, and a typical benchmark is five years. Most have only been in about two years. There
is a great deal of use, but they are not perfect. There are relatively good stopping rates by motorists,
which is consistent to national studies.
Councilor Pishioneri asked if the City owned a mobile traffic speed indicators and if it is used every
day.
Mr. Barnett said it is managed by the Police Department with coordination with Development and
Public Works. When the Development and Public Works Department was managing it, the calendar
was filled most of the year.
Councilor Pishioneri suggested concentrating that resource on Main Street for an extensive time at
different locations along the Main Street corridor, especially in higher speed areas.
Councilor Moore thanked those citizens in attendance and also those that had sent emails and attended
the town hall last week. She noticed that during the day the yellow lights were not as visible as the red
lights. She would like to see them changed out to red lights, but was not sure of the cost associated.
She agreed that the look of the street is a highway, and having five lanes of traffic to cross as a
pedestrian is a long ways to go even in a crosswalk. She supported narrowing the lanes with paint for
now, and moving forward on their visioning plan. A suggestion was made about putting strips of
reflective lights on the street within the crosswalk. She asked if they could find out the cost of those,
as well as how they could be installed. In California, they have a rumble strip cut into the pavement
prior to the intersection to warn people of an intersection ahead. She also supported narrowing the
lanes and putting illumination around the stop lights.
Mr. Barnett said the illumination around the stop lights is included in the ARTS funding and he was
supportive of it as well.
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Councilor Moore said she was in favor of lowering the speed for safety and to benefit businesses
Councilor VanGordon said it is important this doesn't stop tonight and he would like to continue
getting the emails. He appreciates that ODOT is in attendance. The education piece is important and
suggested something like a weekly safety tip from the City that is put out on social media.
Enforcement matters and would like to hear feedback on the results of that once it gets started. He
liked the option of redirecting Public Works week to reach out to middle school age children
concerning bicycle and pedestrian safety. He feels that is a good idea, as well as any ways to partner
with the community such as Safe Routes to School, etc. to promote safety. He is open to discuss a
reduction in the speed limit, and the ramp off Highway 126. He asked about stopping distance for
vehicles going the posted speed limits once the light turns yellow or red, and if the lights are
configured to allow that to occur. There are going to be a lot of little things that help make this safer.
Councilor Woodrow asked how long it might take to get the speed reduced.
Ms. Kargel said depending on workloads, her staff could probably get the report done within about
two months. It would take additional processing at the State traffic engineer's office. If there is a
disagreement, there could be an additional several of months due to the meeting schedule. At the
earliest, it would take about three to five months.
Mayor Lundberg said she is very interested in speed limits. It is a transportation corridor, and not a
neighborhood, although the Vision Plan starts to address it as a neighborhood corridor. There is a lot
of work to do including zoning, but reducing the speed is something they could do now. She likes the
idea of a safety corridor because it can be set up quickly and taken down quickly. The need to set an
atmosphere in which people are more conscientious and know there will be enforcement. She is
interested in more signage with the speed limit posted. They also need signage of what to do at the
flashing yellow lights, and warning signs before you get there. All of that is part of the education. The
short-term education component should get the word out through the schools to both students and their
parents about safe routes to schools and other safety topics. Assemblies and concerts at schools are a
great venue as there are many parents and students in attendance. She wants to take advantage of the
ARTS grant program for short term things such as reflectors around the lights. ODOT has been great
and it is their roadway. Enforcement is important and people need to understand that there are
expectations in that area.
Councilor Woodrow said she received a suggestion via email that when someone pushes the button for
the flashing lights, it should also give the pedestrians a signal that the lights are flashing. Sometimes
pedestrians step into the traffic before the lights begin to flash or cars are able to stop. She agrees more
signage is needed in the crosswalk to tell cars what to do, especially on the yellow lights. She has
noticed at times, that multiple yellow flashing crossings are being used at once. We all need to work
on being aware of each other on the street. She agreed with the idea of developing a driving tip of the
week, and putting them on the LTD busses. It is an entire effort and is important to be done now.
Councilor Pishioneri said he was fine with some mitigation of the off -ramp from southbound Highway
126 to westbound Main Street, but was not sure shutting it down would be the best course. One way
to make it safer could be to extend the island on that ramp to prohibit people from turning left into
Safeway. The 45 mph speed sign installed before getting to Main Street on Highway 126 is obscured
and there is no "reduce speed" sign. That should be fixed right away. ODOT uses "Slow Down"
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flashing signs on sharp turns on some of the freeways and he would like to see that on Main Street if a
car is going too fast.
Mr. Barnett said that concept was included in the Main Street Safety Study.
Councilor Pishioneri said enforcement needs to be long-term with zero tolerance so people learn to
drive slowly. He referenced Oakridge as an example.
Councilor Ralston said it takes very little time to go through an intersection. If there was a delay on the
crosswalk signal of about 5 seconds, it could prevent people from starting to walk. He doesn't like the
idea of narrowing the road because it is a highway and big trucks and motor homes drive that corridor.
He would like more information on that concept.
Mr. Barnett said they would not narrow it a lot, but would take areas where lanes are wider than
needed and bring them down to standard width. When the City created bicycle lanes, they narrowed
some lanes. Staff would like to check for lanes that might be wider than needed.
Mayor Lundberg said she liked Councilor Pishioneri's idea of signs saying `reduced speed ahead' such
as they have in rural areas. It would be helpful to have those signs when coming in from the east or off
Highway 126 southbound. Taking away the ability to go across all of the lanes to get to Safeway
would also help. She wanted to see an instruction video on the flashing yellow lights and how they
work, and have it on the television as a public service announcement. That is part of the education the
City could do. The videos need to be more accessible to the public.
Councilor Woodrow said another issue was lighting, especially from 49ffi to Safeway as it is very dark
in that area.
Mayor Lundberg said that was moving into the long term. More discussion would be needed on those
options.
Mr. Grimaldi said staff would move forward with the things that Council agreed upon for the short-
term. They would also look into the unique ideas brought up by each Councilor that had no objections.
Councilor Moore suggested putting up a sign at the east entrance to town about caring for our citizens
and slowing down. She felt the idea of pedestrians carrying a red flag across the street as they crossed
was a good idea.
Mayor Lundberg said she supported that, too. Bicycles used flags for visibility.
Councilor Pishioneri asked that the reflectors on two-way turn lanes be wider to silhouette pedestrians
better. These would be the signs on the far side of the crosswalk.
Mr. Grimaldi said there could be more research and cost estimates on some of the ideas. Staff will
come back with a rough schedule of when these can get done in the Council's weekly status report. He
referred to the long-term suggestions and the overall Main Street project. These include seven Main
Street visioning points for Council discussion and consideration.
Councilor Ralston suggested that each councilor go through the long list of long-term ideas and
choose which ones they want to pursue.
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Mayor Lundberg asked if the citizen suggestions could be put into categories by staff. Some things
are already being done, while others are more costly and may be funded by different grants. She asked
if Council wanted to go through the list of seven longer-term goals. There are some significant things
such as land use zoning. The list of seven could be expanded upon with more information.
Councilor Moore said that Representative John Lively noted this is an issue for many cities with
highways going through them and it is a legislative issue. The Council and citizens need to bring it to
our legislators for funding and long-term plans for ODOT to look at the issue of highways going
through towns.
Mayor said she was recently appointed to the Oregon Transportation Policy Group and will be
attending her first meeting on Friday. She will bring this to their attention.
2. 2015 Eugene -Springfield Consolidated Plan.
Molly Markarian, Senior Planner, presented the staff report on this item.
The Cities of Springfield and Eugene are required to submit a new five-year Consolidated Plan to the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) no later than May 15, 2015.
The Eugene -Springfield Consolidated Plan provides an assessment of local housing, homelessness,
and community development needs and establishes a five-year strategic plan with priority needs and
strategies for the use of federal funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). Completion and adoption of the Consolidated Plan every five years is a
prerequisite for receiving Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment
Partnerships Program (HOME), and other HUD funds. The City of Springfield receives CDBG funds
as a HUD entitlement community and HOME funds as part of a HUD consortium with the City of
Eugene. As such, the two Cities complete a joint Consolidated Plan. Both Cities also collaborate with
Lane County in developing the Plan because they administer funding related to basic social services
and homelessness. While the Consolidated Plan is a HUD requirement, the Plan primarily serves as a
tool to guide the use of federal HUD funds in the most effective and coordinated manner possible.
At this work session staff will review the Consolidated Plan development process, discuss
achievements completed under the current Consolidated Plan, and identify draft priority needs and
proposed strategies for use of federal funds under the 2015 Consolidated Plan. Staff will also review
process modifications for the annual 2015 Action Plan. The Consolidated Plan and Action Plan will be
presented for Council's consideration and adoption on April 20, 2015. The adopted plans must be
submitted to HUD no later than May 15, 2015.
Ms. Markarian presented a power point. The last Consolidate Plan was adopted in 2010. HUD is
prescriptive of the process of what communities need to go through in terms of analyzing data, talking
with the community, setting priorities and goals, and metrics. The Eugene/Springfield region is
expected to receive about $13M over the next five years. HOME funding is best suited for new
construction and acquisition of existing affordable housing. CDBG funds have a wider array of uses
for affordable housing, economic opportunities, human service operations and capital facilities, and
improvements in low income areas. Both CDBG and HOME funding has decreased consistently over
the last decade.
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Ms. Markarian described the Consolidated Plan process which includes: assessing past activities;
assessing community needs and market conditions; setting priorities; determining feasibility; and
setting goals, strategies and measurements. Staff started reviewing the data this winter and also
conducted outreach and one-on-one consultations with providers. They are currently working through
the priority needs analysis with the Consolidated Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC) which is
comprised of public representatives from Springfield's Community Development Advisory
Committee (CDAC), the CDBG advisory committee in Eugene, and the Housing Policy Board. The
consultations with the housing providers and human service providers, and the interactions with the
CPAC include talking about the priority needs. A public hearing will be held tomorrow night with the
CPAC to hear from the community their feedback on the priority needs and strategies. This Spring,
they are developing the Action Plan which outlines how Springfield will use its funds over the next
year. Council and the CDAC provided direction in February on how the CDBG funds should be
allocated. A public hearing with the CDAC will be held in April. All of that will be finalized and
submitted to HUD by May 15, 2015.
Ms. Markarian referred to a chart showing an assessment of past activities from 2010 to 2015. The
first was to increase the supply of affordable housing. In that plan, development of 100 housing units
in Springfield was projected and twenty-five units were completed. Another goal was to rehabilitate
existing housing with a planned outcome of 550 repairs. The estimated outcome included 411
emergency home repairs, 4 Springfield home improvement loans, funding the Lock -out Crime project,
and renovating six Alvord Taylor homes. The 4t' goal was to create home ownership opportunities
with a planned outcome of 150 home purchases. The estimated outcome was 68 home purchases. The
final goal was to remove barriers to affordable and supportive housing by providing funds to maintain
the Housing Policy Board.
Ms. Markarian said under the 2010 Plan there was also a set of community development strategies.
The first was to support human services operations and capital improvements. The Planned Outcome
and Estimated Outcome were both 15% to the Human Services Commission to distribute to human
service agencies, and to provide funding for capital improvements to five human service facilities.
The second strategy was to provide business loans/grants to create jobs and support microenterprises.
They were able to make one business loan, supported improvements to businesses that created 8 jobs
and trained 16 entrepreneurs. The third strategy was to improve accessibility to public facilities and
four accessibility improvements were completed. The final strategy was to make strategic investments
to low-income neighborhoods or areas of slum and blight and two projects were completed.
Ms. Markarian reviewed the demographic shifts including significant growth in the Latino, senior and
single population. There is still a lot of economic vulnerability in our community with 50% of
children in the three school districts in Eugene and Springfield are eligible for free or reduced price
lunches. There is also a high incidence of homelessness. There are limited employment opportunities.
Lane County lost a lot of jobs in the economic downturn. Although they have gained back a lot of
jobs, but they are at lower ranges. Low income people face the challenges of housing availability and
housing locations.
Councilor Ralston asked about the average wage.
Ms. Markarian said it refers to the median wage in Lane County. She is not sure of that amount.
Councilor Pishioneri said the average wage in Lane County is different than the average wage in
Springfield. He asked what the average cost was for a two-bedroom rental.
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Ms. Markarian said she did not have that information, but could provide it later. She reviewed
Attachment 4 in the agenda packet which was the Draft Priority Needs as Identified by the 2015
Eugene/Springfield Consolidated Plan Needs Assessment.
Mayor Lundberg said she wanted to note that Springfield has better percentages in regard to housing.
Her conclusion is that Springfield does a better job than Eugene keeping people in housing and
keeping them from being homeless.
Ms. Markarian said that is correct.
Councilor Moore said it could mean we have more substandard housing being rented.
Councilor Ralston said we have focused on home ownership which keeps people in their homes. He
doesn't want to abandon what we have done well.
Mayor Lundberg said it does affect us because we area now doing it together with all of the funds in
one pot.
Ms. Markarian reviewed Attachment 5 in the agenda packet which included the Draft Strategies to
Address Priority Needs as Identified by 2015 Eugene/Springfield Consolidated Plan.
Ms. Markarian said the next steps include continuing to gather community input, refine and finalize
strategies, and bring it to Council the end of April for action on the 2015 Consolidated Plan. Staff met
with the CDAC to develop the CDBG allocation for the coming year and they will hold a public
hearing on April 2, 2015. The CDAC is looking to allocate the funding to broad categories, not
specific projects. There will be a separate request for proposals (RFP) process for specific requests.
Mayor Lundberg asked who was allocating the HOME funds this year.
Ms. Markarian said the Housing Policy Board was not making determinations on projects, but
determining the percentage for administration, housing development, and community development
housing organizations. The project funds would go through an RFP process. Staff was still working
through negotiations on the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) on how that project selection will
occur.
Community Development Manager Tom Boyatt asked the Mayor if she was asking what the Housing
Policy Board is doing for the current year. One of the allocation categories is the RFP. The
applications will be reviewed by technical/staff, then by the Evaluation Committee who will make
funding recommendation to Mayor Piercy and Mayor Lundberg, who will make the final decision.
Councilor Moore asked how the Housing Policy Board was involved in the evaluation
Ms. Markarian said the CDBG allocation goes into the Action Plan in broad categories. A separate
RFP goes out for detailed projects. The same thing happens with the HOME fund in the Action Plan.
Mayor Lundberg said in the past, there was no staff intermediary. They just went straight to the
CDAC.
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Mr. Boyatt said it will still work that way for the CDBG funds, but not the HOME funds.
Councilor Moore said the strategies are still the same as in the past.
Councilor Ralston said it is still going to be what Eugene has always done. Our strategy of home
ownership is going to be gone and he feels like we are getting left out.
Councilor VanGordon said he agreed. Our strategies of what is best for Springfield are not getting the
same attention.
Mr. Grimaldi said it is the federal regulation driving it.
Councilor VanGordon said our historic strategy of economic growth has been a way to move people
out of poverty, and home ownership is the right direction for this community.
Mayor Lundberg said the percentages are important to see that our community is doing a better job
with the strategies we had been using for home ownership.
Councilor Moore asked about property tax waivers offered by Eugene and not Springfield as an
incentive. She suggested we look at what we could do for an incentive.
Development and Public Works Director Anette Spickard said low-income housing projects
completed anywhere in Oregon are eligible for the property tax special assessment or exemption and
are not city specific. Eugene uses a multi -unit property tax exemption that relates to transient oriented
multi-level housing, but it is not always low-income affordable housing.
Mr. Boyatt said staff understands that the Council is not happy with the transition in the HOME
funding. They will be going to Salem to meet with a HOME specialist in the State to discuss our
consortium options and what it could mean to partner with the State rather than Eugene.
Mayor Lundberg said the person she met with from HUD was receptive to the fact that Springfield had
a good system until they changed things. The new system got set up because there were other places
that were not doing a good job.
Councilor Ralston said it would be good to look at land banking. If we have land set up, it would be
easier for Springfield to get our share.
Mayor Lundberg asked what funding Eugene used for land banking.
Ms. Markarian said they used CDBG funds and perhaps other funding.
Mr. Grimaldi said land banking would help with housing needs, and being able to provide assistance
when developers decide to redevelop.
Mayor Lundberg said that would be part of a long-term budget discussion. She thanked staff for all
their work.
City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
March 9, 2015
Page 12
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:33 p.m.
Minutes Recorder — Amy Sowa
Christine L. Lundberg
Mayor
Attest:
Cin 4MA--
Amy Sowa
City Recorder